Unrelieved chronic pain is a worldwide epidemic
Chronic pain has been subject to multiple international initiatives through the World Health Organization. Interventional Pain Medicine, use of minimally invasive techniques to relieve pain, is the best approach when simpler measures such as physical therapy or medications fail. However, these procedures can be associated with significant risk and expense. Establishing uniformity in diagnostic criteria and procedural performance can reduce both morbidity and unnecessary procedures, and hence healthcare expenditures.
While other texts explain how to perform these procedures, little focus has been given to diagnostic considerations: if and when these procedures should be performed. Evidence-based Interventional Pain Practice uniquely focuses on how the establishment of an accurate and specific diagnosis relates to the effectiveness of the interventions. It provides the evidence for the use of interventional pain techniques across all areas of chronic pain including:
• Head, neck and shoulder pain
• Spinal pain
• Pain in the joints and extremities
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Phantom pain
Evidence-based Interventional Pain Practice provides essential knowledge for anyone who uses, or intends to use, interventional pain techniques.